Angels of mercy: Local women are featured in 'The American Nurse' project

Apr. 16, 2013

Written by

The Reporter

The ‘essence’
of nursing

• “The essence of nursing is that you care about people from all walks of life, believing you can make a difference when someone has needs physically and emotionally. “I believe it is a calling. When I was young (9 years old), my sister had scoliosis and had to be in a cast from the top of her neck to the bottom of her butt. She was laid up in our house in a hospital bed, and I started to care for her. “I knew then and there that it was what I was meant to do. I didn’t even know how much a nurse made an hour when I decided to go to college; I just knew that this is what I wanted to be. “People should also know that we work hard and truly care about patients/families.”

• “When I started nursing school, I was hopeful to find a job, develop my career, provide for my family and help a few patients along the way. My job has proven to be far beyond my initial hopes. “Nursing is the most fulfilling job/decision/career/passion I could imagine. The challenges I face are not always easy; some days are heart-wrenching, exhausting and depressing. However, the rewards of nursing outweigh any challenge I have been presented with. “I feel blessed to provide the very best care, knowledge, patience, warmth, honesty, support, humor and empathy to every patient I spend time with. This is the essence of nursing; it’s what I have the good fortune to do every day.”

• “I started as a nurse’s aide in 1967 because I liked working with people. There is a sense of accomplishment with helping people, getting them to where they need to be, whether it is helping them find a physician or understand what they are being treated for. “I was an emergency room nurse for 30 years and I’ve been a sexual assault nurse. The job is intense at times, but very fulfilling. As an ER nurse, you need to be ready and prepared for all things that come through the door. “Nursing is about caring and giving and patient contact. I still look forward to going to work everyday.”

• “Last July I retired after enjoying the ‘essence’ of nursing for 46 years. Is it a calling? Maybe, for some. “Some might say the ‘essence of nursing’ is hard work, long hours, continuous education, and continuous change. When I reflect on my career, the ‘essence of nursing’ was a passion for caring, making a difference for someone and recognizing the difference that someone else’s life made in your own. “It was a blessing, a gift that cannot be summed up in a single sentence, but a lifetime of moments stored forever in my heart.”

• The American Nurse Project is a non-profit initiative aimed at elevating the voices of American nurses by capturing their personal stories through photography and film. Renowned photographer Carolyn Jones created a unique vision for The American Nurse Project and journeyed across the country to capture the heroic experiences of nurses at work. An upcoming documentary will share a more in-depth look at the stories of six diverse nurses from around the U.S. • For more information, visit AmericanNurseProject.com. The book can be purchased at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com or IndieBound.org.

Joann Strandell

More

ADVERTISEMENT

“The most important practical lesson than can be given to nurses is to teach them what to observe.” —

Florence Nightingale

Local nurses Sister Stephen Bloesl and Shannon Mueller are featured in The American Nurse Project, a not-for-profit initiative capturing the personal stories of American nurses through photography and film.

Their stories are recorded in the book, “The American Nurse,” released in the fall of 2012.

The American Nurse project will film Bloesl this week in her role as director of nursing at Villa Loretto nursing home and Villa Rosa assisted-living facility in Mount Calvary for a documentary based on the project. The film will be released later this year.

Mueller, of Fond du Lac, is a registered nurse at Aurora HealthCare. She served in the medical unit with the U.S. Army Reserves during a seven-month tour of Afghanistan.

Sister Bloesl's story

Originally from Oshkosh, Bloesl realized her calling to be a nun while in high school and afterward set out to embrace God’s vision for her life.

She started off as a nursing assistant at Villa Loretto in 1965 and earned a scholarship to attend nursing school.

“I never had any intention of becoming a nurse. It was God’s hands in my life,” she said.

Much of her work focuses on end-of-life care and helping patients and their families find comfort and peace as they prepare for death.

The menagerie at Villa Loretto — 300 creatures that includes ring-tail lemurs, Patagonian cavies, peacocks and assorted barnyard animals — is used as therapy for both young and old, alike. The property sits on 120 acres and, over time, the Sisters began acquiring animals, many of them sick or in need of rescue.

As a way to infuse vigor and energy into Villa Loretto, Bloesl initiated a respite program through social services for foster children ages newborn through teen.

Boesl was at first apprehensive about becoming a nurse and was terrified to give shots.

“Different people along the way encouraged me, put the idea in my head and heart,” she said.

(Page 2 of 2)

Both of her parents had dementia, Bloesl said, so she understands what families go through and how difficult it can be.

“The essence of nursing is to be an advocate for our residents and help provide the best care and quality of life that we can,” she said.

Shannon Mueller

“I fell backward into nursing. I am not one of those people who always wanted to be a nurse,” Mueller said.

Her first job out of high school was with the Army Reserves and she worked as a CNA while earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice. For a while, she worked at a jail.

“It’s a very negative atmosphere, as you can imagine, and I felt my attitude and personality change and I didn’t care for that,” she said.

The Army Reserve needed nurses so she went back to school for nursing on a civilian contract. Mueller was deployed in 2003 and stationed at Bagram, where only patients in critical condition were treated.

“Many of the patients had been in their backyards when the land mines exploded,” she said. “You really take your chances just walking in that country.”

The people live in one-room dwellings and at night build fires in the middle of the room. Many times babies roll into the fire, she said. She saw many children who were shot or injured by land mines.

An image that stays in her mind is of American flags hanging over two rows of cots. These weren’t bodies, they were body parts, she points out.

“They were just flat American flags. That was very hard to see. I will never forget that image,” she said.

Mueller said the experience made her a better nurse. She now works in internal medicine with stress testing and in the anti-coagulation clinic at Aurora. She was chosen to be a part of the book through a series of people and circumstance.

“At first I was scared because it’s a phenomenal book. I wanted to be sure to do nursing and the military justice,” she said.

She lives in Fond du Lac with her husband, Ron Mueller, and sons Alex, Cody and Justin.